The first B-52H Stratofortress to receive a major radar upgrade last week flew to Edwards Air Force Base in California for testing, marking a significant milestone in the Air Force’s work to modernize its oldest bomber fleet.
The B-52 conducted a ferry flight from Boeing’s San Antonio, Texas, facility, where the new radar was installed, to Edwards on Dec. 8, the Air Force said in a Dec. 10 statement. A crew from the 49th Test Evaluation Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards conducted the ferrying flight.
Now that the bomber is at Edwards, the Air Force said a test team there will conduct ground and flight tests throughout 2026 to make sure the radar is operating properly and inform a decision later next year on whether to move it into production.
The modernized Active Electronically Scanned Array radar installed in this B-52 replaced the bomber’s legacy APQ-166 radar system, which the Air Force called “antiquated and failing.” The new AN/APQ-188 Bomber Modernized Radar System, which was developed by Raytheon Technologies, provides upgraded navigation that will work in all forms of weather and improved targeting capabilities.
The Air Force said this radar update is a variant of the radar now used on the Air Force’s F-15E and EX Eagle and the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet fighters and will bring the B-52 comparable radar capabilities and ease of maintenance.
The B-52’s new radar is planned to bring high-resolution ground mapping capabilities, which will improve its ability to accurately locate targets and track them across the surface or through the air.
The radar upgrades — along with new engines, avionics, weapons, communication systems and other components — are part of a planned nose-to-tail revamping of the Stratofortress fleet that is expected to be so sweeping that the bomber will be renamed the B-52J. The Air Force hopes these upgrades will allow the B-52, which has already been flying for about 65 years, to stay in service into the 2050s or beyond, meaning some bombers could be flying at 100 years old.
“The ferry flight of this upgraded B-52 marks an important moment in our efforts to modernize the bomber force,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in the statement.
“This radar modernization ensures that the B-52 will continue to serve as a cornerstone of American airpower well into the future. We are committed to extending the life of this vital platform, allowing it to operate alongside next-generation fighter and bomber aircraft.”
The Air Force’s bomber fleet is now made up of 76 B-52s, 19 B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and 45 B-1B Lancers. As the service brings on the advanced B-21 Raider bomber, made by Northrop Grumman, it will continue to retire B-1s and B-2s into the 2030s.
At some point in the next decade, the service will have a two-bomber fleet of B-21s and B-52s and is upgrading the Stratofortresses to ensure they will be able to fight in a modern war.
“This milestone ensures our future airmen inherit a modernized, ready Air Force,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said in the statement.
“The B-52 Radar Modernization Program is about more than technology. It’s about readiness, deterrence and the ability to fight and win. The B-52 remains a powerful example of how we fly, fix and fight to sustain global strike capability,” he said.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
